Belfast Education and Library Board

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the Belfast Education and Library Board calculates the amount of money that it allocates to primary schools.

Baroness Amos: The Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) calculates primary school budgets in accordance with its local management of schools (LMS) scheme, which is the subject of consultation with all schools and subject to approval by the Department of Education. The majority of funding which primary schools receive is determined under the board's LMS funding formula, which takes account of individual school characteristics, including the number of pupils, the size of school premises, support for small schools, social deprivation, special educational needs and support for particular groups of pupils.

Belfast Education and Library Board

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which primary school attracts the most money from the Belfast Education and Library Board per number of pupils in the primary school sector; and which school attracts the least.

Baroness Amos: The chief executive of the Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) has advised that, in the formula funding budget allocation for the 2003–04 financial year, St Mary's Primary School, Divis Street, Belfast, with 70 pupils, attracted the most money at £3,838 per pupil and Stranmillis Primary School, with 435 pupils, attracted the least at £1,566 per pupil. It should be noted that all of the pupils attending St Mary's Primary School are from the Traveller community and as such attracted additional funding under the board's LMS scheme. In the 2003–04 financial year, this amounted to £941.58 per qualifying pupil.

Northern Ireland: Pre-Employment Consultancy Service

Baroness Blood: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the average time taken to disclose relevant non-conviction police information following a Pre-Employment Consultancy Service check in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Amos: The Chief Constable has informed me that, in relation to the above information released to the Pre-Employment Consultancy Service, the time taken averaged out at 2 to 3 months for each disclosure.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they will take to facilitate the design of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank projects to help to fight corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo as desired by the president of that country.

Baroness Amos: We work closely with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both through our participation on the boards and at working level, to ensure that their programmes are based on strong systems of accountability.
	We are also providing technical assistance, as part of our support to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and in partnership with the World Bank on the strengthening of the institutional and legal frameworks for tackling corruption in the DRC.
	We supported the first World Bank economic recovery credit to DRC, which was earmarked for private sector development and improvement of the business climate through stronger institutions, simplification of procedures and clarification of ownership rights, all of which help to fight corruption.

Belfast: Waterways

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 22 January (WA 145), which public authorities are adjacent landowners to the Knock and Connswater Rivers; whether they are aware of their responsibilities regarding the clearance from the banks and channels of rubbish and dumped materials; when they last did so; and over which stretches of the rivers.

Baroness Amos: The Department of Regional Development (DRD) Roads Service and Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) own small areas of land adjacent to the Knock and Connswater Rivers respectively.
	The Knock and Connswater Rivers also flow through public parks, which are the responsibility of Belfast City Council.
	DRD Roads Service and Belfast Education and Library Board are aware of their responsibilities as landowners. Maintenance activities, including the removal of litter and other similar material, are undertaken on an ad-hoc basis, as necessary. The Roads Service will carry out an inspection of the area it owns and arrange for the removal of any rubbish found on the riverbanks before the end of February 2004.
	BELB also plans to replace fencing adjacent to the Connswater River at Elmgrove Primary School and will take the opportunity to investigate the need for removal of rubbish on this stretch of the river. It is understood that public park maintenance operations by Belfast City Council would also cover litter control on the banks of the rivers flowing through the parks.

Northern Ireland: Public House Licences

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 22 January (WA 145), whether they are aware of the percentage of subsisting public house licences held by Catholics and the percentage of those held by Protestants; and, if figures are not available, whether they will obtain the information.

Baroness Amos: A court is not required to ascertain the religion of a person when granting a licence to sell alcohol by retail. There are, therefore, no figures available on the percentage of subsisting public house licences held by Catholics and the percentage of those held by Protestants. There are no plans to do so.

Northern Ireland: Teachers

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether each of the five Education and Library boards in Northern Ireland advise their staff and interview panels that they are not governed by fair employment legislation when selecting teachers for appointment to state schools; and whether they are also advised that they should abide by each board's anti-discrimination and fair employment policies when so selecting.

Baroness Amos: Information received from the chief executives of the education and library boards in Northern Ireland indicates that staff involved in recruitment and selection and members of boards of governors attending recruitment and selection training are advised of the boards' equal opportunity policies regarding discrimination and fair employment. They are also advised that recruitment of teachers is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, (Article 71).

House of Lords: Government Documents

Lord Lucas: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will instruct departments that, when the Printed Paper Office of the House of Lords requests for Members' copies of documents published by them, these copies are to be provided without delay.

Baroness Amos: I am happy to do this. This week my office will contact the parliamentary branches of all government departments to remind them that they should supply the Printed Paper Office with copies of their published documents as soon as possible after they receive a request for such documents.

Northern Ireland: Railways

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to promote the railway line between Coleraine and Londonderry as a tourist attraction.

Baroness Amos: The Government provide substantial resources to Northern Ireland Railways to enable them to maintain railway services, including services on the Coleraine-Londonderry line. They would welcome any increase in the low levels of patronage of services on this line, but do not promote it or assist in promoting it as a tourist attraction.

Northern Ireland: Railways

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When was the track on the railway line between Coleraine and Portrush relaid; and at what cost.

Baroness Amos: Translink has advised that the sleepers and rails on the branch railway line between Coleraine and Portrush were replaced in the summer of 2000 with better quality sleepers and rails previously used on the Belfast to Lisburn main line. The cost of the work was £536,411.

House of Lords: Declarations of Interests

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked the Chairman of Committees:
	When the Sub-Committee on Lords' Interests will report whether Members who are or have been employees of the European Union should declare that fact when speaking in debates about the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: The Sub-Committee on Lords' Interests completed its deliberations before Christmas, except on the issues raised about Members of the House who are or have been employees of the European Union. It was considered that these issues gave rise to difficult legal questions on which there were conflicting views, and it was agreed that Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Chairman of the Sub-Committee and a former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, should write a formal legal opinion on these questions. It is expected that he will complete his work shortly and then submit it to the Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee's report is expected to be presented to the Committee for Privileges as soon as possible after that.

Asylum Appeals

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How frequently during each of the last three years have asylum appeals been decided by adjudicators in the absence of Home Office presenting officers; and
	Whether they consider that Home Office presenting officers should participate in all asylum appeals; and, if not, what they consider should be the practice.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Latest available figures show that, for the 12-month period to August 2003, the Home Office was not represented in up to 28 per cent of asylum appeals being heard by adjudicators at the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA).
	Statistics are not available for earlier periods.
	We aim to provide representation in 95 per cent of all appeals, including asylum appeals, being heard by adjudicators at the IAA. It has been difficult to recruit sufficient numbers of presenting officers, particularly in the London area, which accounts for the majority of cases. However, action is in hand to address this and a further 65 presenting officers will be in post by mid-March 2004.

British-Irish Council: Minority Languages

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In the communique following the recent British-Irish Council Meeting in Cardiff, what were the agreed areas where enhanced co-operation at governmental level would be beneficial; and what are the countries and languages involved.

Lord Filkin: The recent British-Irish Council (BIC) meeting in Cardiff focussed on indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages. It was agreed that members of the BIC should:
	Jointly consider outcomes of research into intergenerational language transmission;
	Carry out an assessment of structures supporting indigenous language learning in adult education in each of the BIC administrations;
	Work together to identify priorities for their respective indigenous languages in relation to information and communication technology development;
	Consider together the potential benefits of co-operating on the development of language use surveys;
	Share information on their experiences of the relationship between planning policy and linguistic considerations;
	Other aspects of the BIC's meeting are described in the meeting communique (copies of which are available in the Library of the House).
	The members of the Council are the British and Irish Governments; the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man. (Since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Northern Ireland interests within the British-Irish Council have been represented by Northern Ireland Office Ministers as part of the UK delegation).
	Work being taken forward on agreed areas will embrace the following indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages:
	Cymraeg/the Welsh Language
	Gaelic in Scotland
	Gaelg/the Manx Language
	An Ghaeilge/the Irish Language
	Guernesiais/Guernsey-French
	Jerriais/the Jersey Language
	Ulster Scots
	Cornish

Traffic Courts

Viscount Simon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many specialist traffic courts there are; whether they intend to carry out a full evaluation of these courts; and if so, when the evaluation will be completed.

Lord Filkin: The listing of road traffic cases as with all magistrates' courts business is managed on a local basis by magistrates' courts committees (MCCs), depending on local circumstances. Most MCCs will have regular weekly or daily courts within their area but this information is not collected centrally nor do the Government intend to carry out an evaluation of these courts.

Adoption

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether any guidance has yet been issued to social services departments of local authorities in the light of the judgment delivered by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of P C and S v the United Kingdom (2002), involving a baby forcibly removed from her mother by social services soon after birth; and, if not, why not.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The European Court of Human Rights handed down its judgment on 16 July 2002. The Court did not find any legislation or guidance to be in breach of the Convention. However, the judgment did raise a number of issues for the Department for Education and Skills to consider. The department has continued to keep these issues in mind as it reviews and develops its guidance to local authorities. This is an ongoing process.
	The department has now begun an extensive programme of consultation on the draft regulations and guidance that will implement the Adoption and Children Act 2002 provisions. In November 2003 it issued the first of five consultation packages which sets out the draft regulations and guidance governing the arrangement of adoptions, and which addresses some of the issues highlighted for further consideration as a result of the judgment. For example, the consultation includes the draft regulations that place a requirement on agencies to explain to a birth parent the consequences of adoption and how the parent may apply for a contact order at the time of the adoption hearing. Furthermore, the draft guidance sets out the procedure for counselling a birth parent about contact and how the arrangements for contact may change through the adoption process. This consultation exercise will run until 1 May 2004.

Pensioners

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What number and proportion of pensioners are (a) homeowners with a mortgage; (b) homeowners without a mortgage; (c) tenants; and (d) living in other circumstances.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The Family Resources Survey can provide estimates for 2002–03 covering the United Kingdom. This information is presented in the table below.
	
		Proportion and number of pensioner benefit units by tenure type
		
			 Tenure Number of pensioner benefit units (millions) Proportion of pensioner benefit units (per cent) 
			 Homeowner with mortgage 0.9 10 
			 Homeowner without mortgage 5.1 58 
			 Tenants 2.3 26 
			 Other 0.5 6 
			 Total 8.8 100 
			 Sample size 10,389 
		
	
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey, 2002–03
	1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The latest year for which data are available is 2002–03. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest percentage point and numbers of pensioners have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 benefit units.
	2. A benefit unit is defined as a single adult or a couple living as married and any dependent children.
	3. A pensioner benefit unit has been defined as any benefit unit which contains at least one member who is 60 years old or over. This definition ties in with qualification conditions for the pensioner premium for benefits.
	4. The Other tenure category covers pensioner benefit units that do not include the householder, for example those living with a son or daughter who is the householder, and households occupied as rent-free or squatting.
	5. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for tenure type, council tax band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining response bias.
	6. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Pensioners

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What number and proportion of pensioners who are receiving one or more income-related benefits are (a) homeowners with a mortgage; (b) homeowners without a mortgage; (c) tenants; and (d) living in other circumstances.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The Family Resources Survey can provide estimates for 2002–03 covering the United Kingdom. This information is presented in the table below.
	
		Proportion and number of pensioner benefit units by tenure type for those benefit units receiving at least one income related benefit
		
			 Tenure Number of pensioner benefit units (millions) Proportion of pensioner benefit units (per cent) 
			 Homeowner with mortgage 0.1 6 
			 Homeowner without mortgage 0.6 25 
			 Tenants 1.7 65 
			 Other 0.1 4 
			 Total 2.5 100 
			 Sample size 3,150 
		
	
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey, 2002–03
	1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The latest year for which data are available is 2002–03. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest percentage point and numbers of pensioners have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 benefit units.
	2. A benefit unit is defined as a single adult or a couple living as married and any dependent children.
	3. A pensioner benefit unit has been defined as any benefit unit which contains at least one member who is 60 years old or over. This definition ties in with qualification conditions for the pensioner premium for benefits.
	4. The Other tenure category covers pensioner benefit units that do not include the householder, for example those living with a son or daughter who is the householder, and households occupied as rent-free or squatting.
	5. Income related benefits include the following benefits:
	Housing-benefit
	Council tax benefit in Great Britain
	Rates Rebate in Northern Ireland
	Extended payment of housing benefit
	Extended payment of council tax benefit in Great Britain
	Income support/minimum income guarantee
	Income-based jobseeker's allowance
	Social fund grant for funeral expenses
	Social fund grant for maternity expenses
	Social fund grant for community care
	Back to work bonus
	Child maintenance bonus
	6. Benefit receipt is based on self-assessment and therefore may be subject to misreporting. There is evidence to suggest that some pensioner respondents to the Family Resources Survey may not correctly identify which benefits they are receiving, in particular minimum income guarantee being recorded under retirement pension; this may cause an under-reporting on income-related benefits.
	7. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for tenure type, council tax band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining response bias.
	8. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Pension Credit

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether workers in the call centre handling applications for the new pension credit answer an average of seven calls per day; and, if so, why and how they intend to address the situation.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The number of calls to the pension credit application line varies, increasing from around 193,900 in December 2003 to around 490,000 in January of this year. The application line is resourced to ensure that we can deal with the forecast number of calls from customers. Application line staff undertake other work in addition to answering calls, including contacting customers to follow up application forms which have not been returned and issuing paper application forms in response to postal requests from customers.

Pesticides

The Countess of Mar: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How frequently Health and Safety Executive inspectors expect to examine the records of pesticide purchase and use required to be maintained by farmers and other authorised users, and whether the records are checked against stocks held.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors would not normally examine records of purchase as part of their inspection activities. Responsibility for the advertisement, sale and supply of pesticides is a matter for local authority officers authorised to exercise the enforcement powers under pesticides legislation, as amended.
	HSE inspectors are authorised to enforce the provisions of the Food and Environment Protection Act and associated legislation in connection with the storage and use of pesticide products in those premises for which HSE is the enforcing authority for the purposes of health and safety legislation.
	HSE inspectors will examine records of pesticide storage and use as and when appropriate and relevant as part of:
	(a) the routine preventive inspection of premises; and (b) the investigation of pesticide-related complaints or ill health.
	The selection of premises for inspection and incidents for investigation is determined respectively by HSE's strategic and priority programmes and by its incident selection procedure.
	Published guidance and codes of practice for the users of agricultural pesticides (Defra's green code and HSE's agricultural information sheet No 16) make no reference to maintaining records of purchase. The keeping of an accurate stock record away from the store is advised to assist the emergency services in the event of an incident involving a pesticide store.
	Published guidance and codes of practice for the suppliers of agricultural pesticides (Defra's yellow code) advises of the need for an accurate and up-to-date list of the quantity and types of pesticides stored (again for use in an emergency) and record of all movements of stock in and out of the store, including sales.

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much money Sport England has spent each year on capital and revenue costs at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre since 1997

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The figures requested are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial Year Revenue(1) Capital 
			  £ £ 
			 1996–97 637,073 212,471 
			 1997–98 962,571 116,437 
			 1998–99 1,172,869 80,314 
			 1999–2000 1,158,811 318,137 
			 2000–01 (2)1,153,775 99,919 
			 2001–02 2,032,417 16,016 
			 2002–03 2,237,897 0 
			 2003–04 (Year to date) 2,434,447 0 
		
	
	Notes:
	(1) The revenue figures are net of operating income.
	(2) In October 2000 there was a change in contractor operating the Crystal Palace Sports Centre on behalf of Sport England. The current contractor operates the centre on a full repairing lease contract. The previous contractor operated the centre on a part repairing lease. The difference betweeen the contracts, together with a different treatment of income under the contracts, makes it difficult to compare results between 1996–97 to October 2000 and the period after October 2000.
	(3) The capital works programme at Crystal Palace is largely undertaken by the new contractor with Sport England only responsible for a minor amount of the capital works undertaken.

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What services are currently offered by the English Institute of Sport to those athletes who use the facilities at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The services currently offered by the English Institute of Sport include: access to a sport physician one day per month, any other bookings are by appointment; a sports physiotherapist, two days per week; a strength and conditioning coach, one day per week; performance lifestyle advice, one day per week and at other times by appointment and UK Athletics testing events three to four times per year—involving strength and conditioning coaches, physiologists, performance lifestyle adviser and nutritionist.

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the relationship between the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and the English Institute of Sport.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: At present there is no formal relationship between Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and the English Institute of Sport (EIS). The EIS has previously tried to negotiate office space and service provision space with Leisure Connections and Sport England, but this did not prove possible.

Licensed Premises

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they are taking to ensure that witnesses to crime and disorder associated with licensed premises give evidence when licensing magistrates consider police objections to the renewal of liquor licences.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Under the current licensing regime, where the police seek the revocation of a licence or oppose renewal of a licence, it is a matter for the chief officer of police to ensure that the police are able to substantiate any allegation which they intend to make in the course of presenting or amplifying their objection or case. It is therefore a matter for the police to ensure that witnesses attend relevant hearings and the Government have no power to enforce attendance. The Government have recognised that the current arrangements are very restrictive and have therefore taken action by introducing new review arrangements in the Licensing Act 2003. The new provisions recognise the reluctance of some members of the public to attend hearings for a variety of reasons. When fully implemented, the 2003 Act will allow interested parties, for example a local resident, or responsible authorities, for example the police, to apply for a review of a premises licence or club premises certificate to the relevant licensing authority, and to make relevant representations to the authority about the grounds for a review. There will be no requirement for the police to support their application. During the consideration of the grounds for a review at a hearing under the 2003 Act the authority will consider those grounds and any of the relevant representations made. Attendance by individuals, who have experienced or witnessed crime and disorder, at such hearings will not be compulsory as the authority will consider written representations.

Camelids: Tuberculosis

Viscount Allenby of Megiddo: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	(a) whether they intend to test camelids (commonly known as alpacas and llamas) in the United Kingdom for tuberculosis;
	(b) if so, and if any subsequent tests prove positive, whether compensation will be paid for animals that are destroyed, and what scale of compensation is envisaged; and
	(c) whether any proposed action will be in harmony with relevant European Union legislation.

Lord Whitty: We currently test camelids on an ad hoc basis to help to resolve confirmed TB incidents. Such testing is voluntary and there is no provision to compensate owners for the loss of reactor animals.
	There are no plans to introduce compulsory routine TB testing for camelids.

Customs and Excise: Veterinary Personnel

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the number of veterinary personnel working for Customs and Excise and port health authorities at international airports and major ports.

Lord Whitty: HM Customs and Excise do not have veterinary personnel.
	Information on the number of veterinarians employed by port health authorities is not held centrally. The inspection services at border inspection posts (BIPs) are the responsibility of the local authority. The BIP has to be approved by the commission, whose inspectors conduct periodic inspections, and who have to be satisfied that the inspection services are adequate.

Wild Boar

Lord Hoyle: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What wild boar in the United Kingdom feed on.

Lord Whitty: Wild boar have only very recently recolonised parts of the United Kingdom and their diet has not been investigated in detail. We do, however, have a good understanding of their feeding preferences from studies carried out elsewhere in the world. The following description of wild boar feeding behaviour is taken from a Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food report published in 1998. 1
	"Wild boar are omnivorous and will consume a large variety of food items; plant food typically constitutes around 90 per cent of the diet, with animal matter constituting around 10 per cent, although a tendency for concentrating on a few preferred foods, such as forest fruits and grain plants can be shown where these items occur in abundance." 1 Current Status and Potential Impact of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in the English Countryside: A Risk Assessment. (1998) M. J. Goulding, G. Smith, and S. Baker. Report for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, UK.
	This report is available on the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/reports.htm

Wild Boar

Lord Hoyle: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether wild boar have been known to attack persons in the United Kingdom.

Lord Whitty: We are not aware of any confirmed attacks on people in the United Kingdom, although there have been a small number of reported incidents involving wild boar. In one, a farm worker was apparently chased by a wild boar and took refuge on his tractor. In another, a woman was knocked over in a high street and injured by a farmed wild boar fleeing from a nearby abattoir.

Wild Birds: Border Inspections

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, without the requirement for a veterinary inspector's input, the current inspection regime for wild birds at border inspection points of the European Union is adequate.

Lord Whitty: Imports of captive birds (which have been wild caught in a third country) are checked by an official veterinarian of the State Veterinary Service at border inspection posts (BIPs) to ensure that they comply with EU import conditions. After clearance from the BIP they are held in quarantine for 30 days under veterinary control where they are tested for relevant notifiable diseases. The birds are only released at the end of the quarantine period if they are healthy and present no risk to the UK flocks.

Biofuels

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Economic Secretary on 22 January (HC Deb, 1420W), how much of the tax revenue raised from fuel duties was contributed by biodiesel and other fuels derived from renewable sources.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government introduced a reduced rate of duty for biodiesel, at 20 pence per litre below the rate for ultra-low-sulphur petrol, in July 2002. £1.3 million was raised in revenue from biodiesel sold at this reduced duty rate in the year 2002–03. This represents approximately 0.01 per cent of total duty revenues raised from all fuel duties.
	Information is not available about the revenue raised from any other fuels derived from renewable sources which would have been charged at the standard rate of duty.
	The revenue raised by the Exchequer from fuel duties is published by HM Customs & Excise at www.uktradeinfo.com in the Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin.

Illegal Meat Imports

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Where illegal meat seized at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports are incinerated.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Illegal meat and products of animal origin seized by Customs are destroyed at incinerators approved under the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) Regulations 2003 and the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003. Seizures from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted are destroyed at an incinerator at Edmonton in north London.

Illegal Meat Imports

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their policy on passengers entering the United Kingdom at airports with illegal meat for their own consumption.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Under the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) Regulations 2003 passengers are allowed to import meat from other EU member states and a small amount of meat from some other European countries provided that it is for their own consumption and is free from disease. Passengers from all other countries may not import any meat but may, depending on the country from which the passenger has arrived, import up to 1 kilogramme each of fish, shellfish, honey or eggs. Full details of the concessions are available on the Defra website.

Railways

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 5 February (WA 120) in respect of Channel Tunnel services, to whom licensed railway undertakings apply for access through the tunnel; and which regulatory body may require access to be granted if the application is refused.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Licensed railway undertakings (or other applicants) seeking train paths through the Channel Tunnel can apply directly to Eurotunnel, or to another infrastructure manager working in co-operation with Eurotunnel to provide a one-stop shop for international paths. Eurotunnel's network statement, which it is preparing in order to meet the requirements of the European directive on allocation and charging of infrastructure capacity, will provide the necessary details for applicants.
	The Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission will be the regulatory body to which applicants may appeal if access through the tunnel is refused.

Railways

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in view of the level of profits made by rolling stock companies, they will take steps to refer the three rolling stock companies to the competition authorities.

Lord Davies of Oldham: No. Competition in the rolling stock leasing market was considered by the Rail Regulator in 1998. The Government accepted his conclusion that potential problems could be remedied by means of voluntary codes of practice backed up by the Competition Act. The codes were published by the rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) in February 2000. The Rail Regulator continues to keep under review both the codes and ROSCOs' adherence to them.
	The rail review announced by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State on 19 January will cover all aspects of industry structure including rolling stock leasing arrangements.

Railways

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to ensure an adequate supply of rolling stock over the next 10 years; and
	Whether present shortages of rolling stock in some sectors indicate that the market is not working satisfactorily, and what measures they are taking to address these shortages.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Strategic Rail Authority published its rolling stock strategy in December. A key objective is to ensure the availability of rolling stock to enable operators to accommodate existing and anticipated passenger demand. The SRA also aims to ensure that there is an efficient and sustainable market for rolling stock supply that encourages innovation. A copy of the strategy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Railways

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to overcome overcrowding of rolling stock in many provincial cities in England.

Lord Davies of Oldham: All train operating companies are required by their franchise agreements to ensure that adequate capacity is provided. The Strategic Rail Authority has published a rolling stock strategy, one of the key objectives of which is to ensure that incentives and commercial interests within the industry are properly aligned to ensure the availability of rolling stock for train operators to accommodate existing and anticipated passenger demand. The SRA has also announced its intention to review its policy on dealing with crowding. It plans to publish a consultation document later this year.

Computer Monitors: Excise Duties

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What view they take of the proposal of the European Union Committee on Excise Duties to reclassify computer monitors thereby permitting Customs authorities to impose higher rates of duty on them.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The customs duties charged in the European Community have evolved over time through various rounds of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, now superseded by the World Trade Organisation. The information technology agreement (ITA) also represents what was negotiable within this complex multilateral framework. The ITA is promulgated in the common customs tariff of the European Communities (CCT).
	When differing interpretations of the CCT arise, the European Commission takes steps to provide clarification to ensure uniform application across the Community. The European Commission is to publish a decision of the Customs Code Committee (Nomenclature Section), which advises it on these matters, in the form of a regulation on the classification of plasma monitors.
	This proposal does not in fact reclassify computer monitors. It clarifies the distinction between them and other types of monitor, such as video monitors, which, within the terms of the ITA and the CCT, are classified separately from computer monitors and attract a higher rate of duty.
	HM Customs and Excise together with the Department of Trade and Industry are satisfied that the proposed regulation provides a correct interpretation of the ITA and CCT. This clarification is intended to assist importers to clear their goods through Customs.

Ambulances

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why ambulance services which maintain in-house vehicles leased to them by commercial firms will from 1 April 2004 be disqualified by Customs and Excise from reclaiming the VAT element of such maintenance and related expenditure.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Under the VAT Act 1994, NHS bodies are able to recover the VAT they incur on certain outsourced services. These services include the leasing of vehicles provided under a contract that also includes their repair and maintenance. This law does not allow recovery of VAT in respect of the leasing of vehicles where the contract for a leased vehicles does not also provide for maintenance services.
	Some NHS bodies have been wrongly recovering VAT in these circumstances. The Government have allowed a transitional period until 31 March 2004, after which VAT paid on vehicle leasing should be met from within the funding allocated to the NHS, as required by VAT law and laid down in the Department of Health's accounting guidelines for the NHS.

Statutory Instruments

The Countess of Mar: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will list, by department, the number of statutory instruments issued each year since 1997.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The number of statutory instruments issued, by department, for 1998–2003 and numbered in the UK series is shown in the attached table. No breakdown is available for 1997, during which a total of 3,114 instruments were issued, as an electronic database was not implemented until 1998. The table shows the number of instruments split by those of a general and local nature. For completeness the table includes the number of instruments made by the National Assembly for Wales in relation to the devolved matters but which are issued as part of the UK statutory instrument series.
	The statistics provided will in future be kept up to date on HMSOnline at www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si-statistics.htm
	
		
			 Department/Public Authority 1998 General Local 1999 General Local 2000 General Local 2001 General Local 2002 General Local 2003 General Local 
			 Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, Ministry of 115 12 111 5 89 38 65 232 – – – – 
			  
			 Attorney General's Department 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Building Societies Commission 4 0 5 0 – – – – – – – – 
			  
			 Cabinet Office 3 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 
			  
			 Constitutional Affairs, Dept for – – – – – – – – – – 42 6 
			  
			 Culture, Media and Sport, Dept for 23 0 22 0 16 0 16 0 29 0 26 0 
			  
			 Customs and Excise, Her Majesty's 12 0 14 0 9 0 20 0 25 0 23 0 
			  
			 Defence, Ministry of 2 0 3 0 17 0 10 0 10 0 9 0 
			  
			 Deputy Prime Minister, Office of the – – – – – – – – 38 16 83 29 
			  
			 Education and Employment, Dept for 146 27 209 25 150 16 85 6 – – – – 
			  
			 Education and Skills, Dept for – – – – – – 95 5 160 8 130 12 
			  
			 Electoral Commission – – – – – – – – 0 66 0 30 
			  
			 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Dept for – – – – – – 78 141 124 2 109 2 
			  
			 Environment, Transport and the Regions, Dept of the 250 1,365 250 1,428 297 1,511 132 716 – – – – 
			  
			 Foreign & Commonwealth Office 2 0 4 0 7 0 4 0 5 0 3 0 
			  
			 Forestry Commission 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Friendly Societies Commission 3 0 0 0 1 0 – – – – – – 
			  
			 General Synod Office 6 0 6 0 6 0 4 0 3 0 4 0 
			  
			 Health, Dept of 175 0 173 0 218 0 399 0 393 1 194 0 
			  
			 Home Office 93 14 87 9 123 3 121 1 117 2 144 1 
			  
			 Inland Revenue 10 0 29 0 39 0 27 0 21 0 38 0 
			  
			 International Development, Dept for 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 
			  
			 Lord Chancellor's Department 63 29 106 12 110 13 137 14 59 3 65 1 
			  
			 National Statistics, Office for 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Northern Ireland Office 22 0 21 0 13 0 20 0 7 0 15 0 
			  
			 Privy Council Office 129 0 139 1 133 0 117 1 121 0 126 0 
			  
			 Scottish/Scotland Office 172 172 136 74 5 0 10 0 4 0 4 0 
			  
			 Social Security, Dept of 59 0 90 0 106 0 71 0 – – – – 
			  
			 Trade and Industry, Dept of 132 1 170 0 135 0 124 0 127 0 139 3 
			  
			 Traffic Director for London 0 65 0 56 0 22 – – – – – – 
			  
			 Transport, Dept for – – – – – – – – 72 623 127 1,438 
			  
			 Transport, Local Government and the Regions, Dept for – – – – – – 113 819 84 644 – – 
			  
			 Treasury H.M. 60 0 95 1 112 0 187 3 91 0 130 0 
			  
			 Welsh/Wales Office 69 78 77 64 1 0 4 0 3 0 2 0 
			  
			 Work and Pensions, Dept for – – – – – – 36 0 96 0 93 0 
			  
			 National Assembly for Wales (NAW) – – 29 29 119 110 241 91 197 117 210 111 
			  
			 Totals 1,556 1,763 1,784 1,704 1,711 1,713 2,118 2,029 1,789 1,482 1,721 1,633 
			  
			 Total of UK SIs 3,319   3,488   3,424   4,147(4)   3,271   3,354 
			  
			 Total of UK SIs (excluding NAW SIs) 3,319   3,430   3,195   3,815(4)   2,967   3,033 
		
	
	(4) The number of instruments issued during 2001 included 597 UK Government SIs and 36 National Assembly for Wales SIs which related directly to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.